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CP Rail speeds up shipping from Toronto to Calgary

Canadian Pacific Railway says it has cut 20 hours off its shipping time on the Toronto to Calgary route.

That means intermodal shipments — with freight cars that easily transfer from trains to trucks, carrying mostly household and consumer goods — can make the 3,400-kilometre trip in 64 hours. The railway says it is expediting fuelling and servicing of locomotives, as well as making fewer stops.

Given that western Canada is booming, this is part of a push to find a better and more efficient way to move goods westward.

“The retail landscape in Canada has changed,” said Jane O’Hagan, chief marketing officer, in an interview. “If you’re a customer that is producing or manufacturing goods in eastern part of Canada, Calgary represents a growth hub on our networks.

“Retailers are growing in this market. Obviously, we want to make our customers more competitive in the market they serve,” she said.

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The intermodal business also represents an increasing part of CP’s business, representing about 25 per cent of revenues.

“I feel we have the fastest and most direct route from Toronto to Calgary in the business,” she said.

However, O’Hagan declined to say whether CP could charge a premium for faster service, emphasizing only that existing customers will get faster service and it now gives new options for potential customers.

Its main rival CN declined to comment on CP’s announcement.

Last year, just three months after former CN executive Hunter Harrison took over as CEO of CP after a bitter proxy fight, CP announced shorter times on its intermodal routes from Vancouver to Toronto, cutting a day, and from Vancouver to Chicago, which became two days faster.

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